What It Could Have Been
by Amirexia
Summary: What would have happened if Loki had conquered Earth? How would the Avengers take it? Read and find out! Alternate ending to the Avengers. Currently a five-shot, could turn into more...if the Avengers survive, that is. T for blood and pain!
1. Captain America

**What It Could Have Been**

**Hello, all my dear readers! Amirexia here. This, in duly noted fact, is my third story, but second posted. The *ahem* other one took a...short drop and sudden stop, shall we say. But never fear! This is a five-shot, perhaps six, dealing with every single Avenger. It - well, you'll see.**

** I love, love, LOVE it when you review! So please. Make my day! And enjoy! *smiles angelically* I'll give a shoutout in the next chapter to all who review!**

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**Chapter 1: Captain America**

The chaos rained upon New York. Burning debris floated from the sky, and the screams of frightened people mixed with the guttural roars of the Chitauri. The bodies of the few police men that had attempted to fight had long since grown cold, their eyes gazing unseeingly at the ruined skyscrapers and smoke-filled air. Loki let a small chuckle escape his lips and strode through the madness with an air of dignity. He stopped suddenly, and looked down.

On the ground before him was sprawled a muscular figure clad in red, white, and blue. His shield rested a few feet away, and his upper face mask lay ripped and shredded next to his head. Blood splattered on the ground surrounding his body, and his torso was so drenched in the crimson flood that the white stripes on his uniform were barely visible, if at all. The hilt of a Chitauri dagger protruded from his abdomen, and his right hand was clutched around the wound almost protectively. His chest rose spasmodically, and his once brilliant blue eyes had dimmed, barely open and glassy.

There lay a dying and defeated Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America.

"Ahh. A fallen soldier." Loki spoke in his odd accent, pronouncing soldier like smolder. He lowered himself to the ground next to Steve, who growled angrily but with dying vigor. "Y-you'll never win, Loki," he stuttered. Loki frowned in a falsely sympathetic way. "Oh, but I already have, my good man! Look around you. The people are scattered, their protection has crumbled, and the so-called heroes that you and your little band claimed to be have failed."

"It- it won't last," the captain coughed. "The people are –" he paused to suck in a large breath, painfully, and expel in in short coughing fits, then continued in a strained voice. "The people a-are too st-strong. They will r-recover.." His tone was almost pleading, like he was trying to assure himself that it was true. In his mind, he fought the urge to close his eyes, let the pain overwhelm him, drift off to his memories and forget about the world. But he wouldn't let himself. His attention was drawn back to Loki, who hovered over him, his expression fierce and angry.

"If you can't stop me, who can?" Loki spat, regarding the dying man coldly. His brilliant green eyes were flashing with malice, but Steve was almost positive he saw something else for a second, a moment of mercy, of pain, but it disappeared soon enough. "T-there are... others..." the supersoldier murmured. "They w-will always defeat y-you." Loki's face contorted into a mask of anger, and he lunged forward, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of the knife. At the violent jolt to his wound, Steve grimaced slightly, drawing his hand away. "I _cannot _be defeated," Loki growled. He leaned in closer til he was nearly an inch away from the captain's ear, and began to twist the knife ever so slowly. As Steve let out an agonized cry of pain, the Asgardian hissed in his ear. "Those that try to stop me will suffer the same fate as your pitiful little group of heroes and this city."

As Steve convulsed in pain, Loki let go of the knife and stood slowly. He looked down on the supersoldier, weakly writhing. He became still as a bold crimson line slipped from the corner of his mouth and worked its way down his jaw. His breath hitched in his throat and he coughed weakly. Death was near. Loki could see this, and he sighed.

The debate started up in his mind. Does he let the Avenger die? Or does he keep him alive?

_Why would you keep him alive?_

Well, although he had opposed Loki, he wasn't sure if Steve really deserved to die. The man could be a useful ally.

_You know he would rather die than assist you. You're not fooling anyone. Let him die._

Loki let out a little growl and crossed his arms. Deep down he didn't want him to die. Because if this one died, they all had to die. Including his br - Thor.

_You're being soft._

"I'm _not _being soft," he hissed under his breath, turning to scan the remaining wreckage. A few of the Leviathans lay sprawled across massive stretches of ground, and though there were many Chitauri alive, there were just as many dead. How could six people take out _that_ much of his grand army? _How? _

The corners of his lips turned upwards. He spun towards the nearest clump of Chitauri and motioned for them to take the supersoldier into a makeshift healing room the Chitauri had set up for their injured comrades. "See that he says alive. I want to interrogate him." He sighed and crossed his arms.

_It is very probable that he will die, _he thought. At least he would have tried.

The Chitauri were none too gentle with the injured captain. One grabbed him under his arms and dragged him to the building and threw him down. His head lolled to the side as if he was unconscious. One Chitauri, the only one that knew how to treat humans, approached. Loki cringed as the blood-stained knife clattered to the ground.

He stepped over to the shield laying on the ground. The paint was singed off in several places, and black Chitauri blood stained the edge and splattered onto the body of it. Loki spun it so that he was looking at the inside, and listened to the noise the vibranium made as it moved through the air. He let it drop to his side and took his time walking to the healing building. He placed the shield in the little alleyway, resting up against the wall. A smile tugged at his lips.

_Spoils of war._

Loki began to walk through the wreckage, seemingly unfazed by the damage he had done. He knew there'd be more fighting, but for now the victory was his. The Avengers had been conquered, and he would rule these people like he was always meant to do.

He cast a look over his shoulder at Steve Rogers, deathly pale, unconscious, and bleeding out. Though he was his enemy, something caused Loki to admire him. Not to pity, but admire. His bravery in the face of death... unparalleled. And his steadfastness in his beliefs – everyone respected him for that. _Why wouldn't they respect me for that?_ Loki wondered. He turned back to the carnage of New York City.

One down, five to go.

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**And that, my dear readers, is how it went. Remember to review, review, review!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in or from Marvel, including characters (ooh, I'd like to own a few of those) and/or places/operations. I'd be rich if I did!**


	2. Iron Man

**What It Could Have Been**

**Chapter 2**

**Iron Man**

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As Loki strode through the chaos, the sounds of mechanical movement reached his ears. He stopped, turned, and squinted. A metal hand protruded from a pile of rubble, and the red and gold fingers clenched around a huge slab of concrete. A robotized voice grunted as the rock fell aside, revealing a red-and-gold arm. Almost instinctively, Loki tensed. If the genius-playboy-billionaire-philanthropist had enough strength to move the massive chunks of rubble, he probably had enough strength to fight.

But the metal man didn't move. His arm hung limp, the few breaths coming from the pile were strangled and pained. Loki's feet crunched over the little specks of concrete, and he peered over the edge. He suppressed a gasp, but a small, almost sympathetic grimace broke though. He chided himself and steeled his face.

The gold face plate was dented in several spots, and near the right side of the jaw an actual, gaping _hole _in the helmet oozed blood. How it got there, he'd never know. The eyeslits, which should have been glowing blue, were a dull grey color – blank. He heard a weak voice from inside grunting in pain, and his green eyes flicked to the glowing blue circle in the man's chest, then back up to the helmet.

Though Loki didn't know much about electronics he could tell that blasted invisible person – whatsisface, TARDIS or LARDIE or whatever – was not operational. The arc reactor was sparking violently, and it flickered from the normal light blue to a dim aqua and back again repeatedly.

All in all, Tony Stark was not in good condition.

Loki knelt next to him and began to pry the helmet loose. He felt the warm, crimson fluid coat his fingers, but he paid it no mind. As he frowned in concentration, he –

"What... are you... d-doing? Augh. That hurts. That freaking HURTS, damn it, STOP!"

A metal hand whacked Loki on the back of the head rather ungracefully and weakly. Tony's pained voice seeped through the widened cracks in the helmet, and the blood flowed with renewed vigor.

"I am freeing you from this _thing,_" Loki spat. "You could be grateful that the last thing you see is clear sky, not the inside of a helmet, you know."

Did he mean it? Was he going to let him die? If so... then what was he doing with Steve?

"I feel... so... grateful," Tony spat.

Though he was the weaker of the two Asgardian siblings, Loki was strong in his own ways. Said way being magic. After he was sick of feeling the sticky substance flowing from the helmet, he drew his hands back and with a quick flick of the wrist opened the helmet. He pulled it off and set it down next to the hero's head and glanced over the wound.

Apparently the metal had weakened in the jaw so that either a well-placed shot or a lucky misfire pierced right through the more vulnerable spot in his faceplate's jaw, going all the way through the metal, shutting the heads-up display down, and striking Tony's jawbone right under his ear. His mouth was filled with blood, and the entire right side of his face was crimson. With its newfound freedom, said blood flowed to the ground and began to pool there.

Loki raised a smug eyebrow. "I won," he stated simply.

Tony was not impressed. In fact, he was ready to blast the demi-god's head clean off his shoulders, if his suit was operational. Which it wasn't. So he settled for a spicy, "Whatever," his steel grey eyes sharp with anger. "You do realize –" He paused to turn his head and spit out some blood that had collected in his mouth. Goodness, how had it gotten there without him noticing? "- this is only... only one city?" His speaking was slow, and slurred, unlike his mind. "One tiny little... fraction... of this world?" It was his turn to raise a triumphant eyebrow. "We were 6. You had... had what, a c-couple thousand? They're pretty much...all... all dead..."

By now his speech was so difficult that his 's' sounds and 'x' sounds smushed together, and he said 't' like a little Nazi. So it sounded something like "Weh wur xik. Yuh haid whut, a cauple dousandt? Der piddy muk awl deadt."

_This is ridiculous, _Tony thought to himself. _And would be hilarious if I wasn't on the verge of probable death and being stared down by the horned devil himself. Ha! Horned. He's wearing a horny helmet. _He amused himself so much that a large grin was creeping across his face.

Loki was saying something – wait what?

"-ants compared to my army," Loki growled. Tony didn't realize he was smiling until a throbbing pain hit him hard. But still, he was Tony Stark. He wasn't going to go turtle up into his suit when Rudolph came running. So he kept grinning.

"-pathetic mortals die. I will – for heaven's sake, man, STOP SMILING AT ME." Tony actually giggled. Or attempted to. It came out more like a cough, and then it turned into a full-blown wheezing fit, spraying the trickster demi-god with little flecks of blood. He tried to roll on his side, the pain growing every second, but the suit was too heavy. He made a little choked sound of panic.

He was trapped. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

It reminded him of caves. He hated caves. Caves where the walls seem to be closing in on you every second. Caves where people torture you to make missiles for them – and – and –

He realized he was hyperventilating. "A bit nervous about death, Stark?" Loki asked wryly.

"Shuddup," came the gasped reply. Tony felt blackness, blackness swirling around his vision, and the horizon wheeled back and forth like it didn't know where it belonged. He felt himself slipping, falling away into unconsciousness...

Loki peered down at Stark's limp body. He could just make out the tiny puffs of breath coming from his slack mouth. He sighed, the mental battle of _kill him, save him _rampaging through his mind.

_I'm not the monster they say I am, _Loki thought painfully. _So I... I need to... stop acting up to the name... _

_But that's WEAKNESS! _The stubborn side of his brain argued.

Iron Man was dying.

If he didn't act quickly, he'd be gone.

Loki stared for one more second, his face emotionless.

Then he made his decision. He shot to his feet. "Healer," he called. "I have another mortal for you."

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**Heeeelllllloooo there! **

**Alright, this is probably the first chapter that going to get me on the radar. Hopefully. Mebbe. :L **

**For those that don't know me, HI! I'm Amirexia! I write Marvel stuff. Mostly. Usually. Partially.**

**I must say, I was pretty disappointed with the turnout for chapter one. But heyo! I got one review and follow, which is better than nuthin! And I have to blame this on FF's updating system. Meh. It only puts me at the top when I've stinking **_**updated. **_**No offense! I'm surprised I got as many hits as I did. **

**Mebbe dis week be better hm?**

**If you haven't noticed by now, this is a whump fic. I – I can't – the FEELS oh my gosh. The feels from reading and writing whump. /3 **

**On to the point! This is a 5 shot whump fic, but I've got my little plot bunny perched on top of my head so it's kinda hard to ignore him. (His name is Nimrod.) And he's planned it allll out... this could be a full blown whopper of a fic, I'm tellin ya. **

**In response to my single review:**

**CactusNoir, you will forever be special to me! You are my first reviewer! *throws cookie* And yeah, Cap's pretty headstrong. That why we love him! And, muahaha, the earth just might not be gone yet! :D **

**Nuther thing. I try to update every week... but I'm ON VACATION WOOOOOHOOO! *begins to sing that annoying song from Chipwrecked* So my general directional objectional POINT is don't **_**expect **_**updates sooner than once a week. **

**That's not to say that I won't be incredibly bored and post two chapters in a week, or three days, or one night... Just don't expect it.**

**Anyway! If you got this far down... You have skills. Seriously. **

**So drop me a review?**

**BLESS YOUR FACE. If you sneezed during this incredibly boring AN, bless you. Peace off. BOOP! (brownie points if you get me.)**

***falls off cliff***

**-Amirexia**

**PS Disclaimer: Don't own anything, yada yada yada. *rolls eyes* We all know the drill.**


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